Golden Girl
by absolutelyheartless
Summary: When Aneni's father's lies get the attention of a mining mogul, Aneni finds herself in a whole new world that seems like a dream. But it would do her well to remember that not all that glitters is gold. Rumpelstiltskin fairytale retelling set in the world of the Lunar Chronicles
1. Chapter 1

The setting sun blinded her as she stepped out of the shadow of mine shaft. The mine-droid shuddered along beside her, pausing quizzically when she flinched back at a step at the sunlight.

"Don't look at me like that," Aneni told the bot with a scowl. "You don't have eyes. You don't know what it's like."

The droid considered her statement for a moment, processors whirring in its mechanical head, before shuddering forward again. Aneni sighed and followed it toward the town.

One of the last cars rattled by on the rails. The other miners shuffled and stretched their way toward their homes with their hair gone gray from the dust.

"Look at this, " Aneni grumbled, brushing the grit out of her shorn-short curls. "I walk like my joints hurt, my hair's gone gray… You think anyone would believe I'm seventeen?"

The droid didn't even pause this time. Aneni wondered if the mining company would notice if she tried to rig it with some speech processors. It would be nice to have someone reply to her yammerings once in a while.

The shabby company housing reclined, low and squat, across the landscape. It had once been daubed a blistering white, but it too had been worn down by the dust and was now a dirty reddish color. Like old blood, Aneni had long since decided.

She hooked the droid up to the powering stations in the courtyard with its companions and shoved open the door to her apartment.

"Baba?" She craned her neck, checking that her father wasn't watching his portscreen on the cushions or hogging her cot. He wasn't. He hadn't even eaten one of their company-issue ration packs yet. Aneni's skin prickled, and she stomped her boots on the floor. She wanted nothing more than to splash some water on her face and collapse onto her cot. Preferably under a fan or three.

But Baba was probably at the Watering Hole, spending univs they didn't have, running his mouth again. Pretending that they were better off than they were, that he mattered more than he did.

Pretending he was something more than an old, dirt-poor miner with only a daughter to his name.

Aneni snatched her military-surplus jacket off the nail on the wall, knowing that the sweltering evening would soon hold a chill. Hot one minute, cold the next; Baba liked to say the desert was a dame. Aneni was of the opinion that he no longer knew very much about dames, or anyone else except himself, for that matter.

A wave of sound crashed against her skin as she stepped inside the bar. Laughter, grumbling, anger, joy— the creak and crackle of humanity heaving heavy in the air. It took her a moment, but she spotted her father at the bar, front and center.

What a surprise.

"Look at this!" he crowed to the crew crowded around him, holding aloft a chunk of something silvery. "My girl's going to make us rich, mark my words. We'll live…" He seemed to notice the drink in his hand just then and paused to take a swig. "We'll live like princes!" he resumed in a roar. The people around him jostled closer, murmuring, trying to catch a glimpse of the ore he was clutching. Aneni swore under her breath; the old lady nursing a pint next to her scowled at her.

"Watch your mouth, child."

"Apologies, ambuya," Aneni muttered before shouldering her way through the crowd toward her father. She plastered a pleasant smile on her face. "Ah, there you are, Baba. It's time for dinner. Come on, let's go."

Her father ignored her, and Aneni gritted her teeth. "Come on, Baba."

"Hush, Aneni. I'm telling everyone about your fantastic machinery!" He winked at one of the men beside him. "Put in a rock, and it spits out palladium! Can you imagine?"

Greed glinted in too many eyes, mingled with a healthy dose of skepticism. But Aneni knew the skepticism wouldn't hold them back long; palladium was one of the rarest and most valuable materials in the world. If there was a way to produce it and Aneni had found it, then that technology would be absolutely priceless.

She leaned close to her father's ear. "If you don't come home now, I'm going and I'm locking the doors." She let that settle a moment, then added the clincher. "And locking the account. No more beers to warm you through the night."

Her father's smile disappeared faster than his beer had, and he slid off the stool, grumbling under his breath. Aneni didn't care if he grumbled, so long as he came. He'd done enough damage for one night.

Baba shivered in the cool of the evening air, but Aneni only walked faster. He'd be home soon enough, and it was his fault he was out here in the first place. She curled her toes in her boots, trying to scrunch up her fury into tiny, manageable pieces.

"What were you thinking?"

Her father shrugged off her accusation like he was still the one in charge. Aneni could have laughed; that time was long gone. But she didn't push the question. What could he say, anyway?

They ate in silence. Her father left the room first, without a word. Not even "goodnight". Aneni curled up in her cot, trying to keep her sadness tucked inside of her. Stars… she was tired. So, so tired. And she couldn't help wondering if he even loved her anymore. If his lies and her rage and his hurt and her hurt were the only things connecting them anymore.

She might have cried herself to sleep if only she weren't a desert girl. Her body didn't know how to waste water.

The hammering on the door jolted Aneni awake. "Open up!"

Baba was already shambling over, cradling his head with one hand and yanking on the handle with the other.

"Whaddya want," he mumbled, squinting into the flashlight beams.

Three figures shouldered their way past him, all broad-shouldered and burly men and women, as though he didn't even matter. The woman paused in the doorway, surveying the room, and her eyes rested on Aneni.

"You're coming with us."

Aneni thought about questioning her for a split second, then took another look at her thick forearms folded over her chest. She didn't argue, just jammed on her shoes, grabbed her jacket, and went.

They had a hover waiting outside, a sleek machine with blacked-out windows and clean lines. It made Aneni think of a crocodile ready to snap its jaws shut around her, but she clambered in anyway. The two male guards wedged in on either side of her, with the woman in the seat across from them. Aneni scowled and wished her hips were a little slimmer; she thought she could feel her bones grating against each other.

The woman stared at her, eyes narrowed. Aneni glared right back. They sat there like for roughly twenty minutes, so the tension was so thick it felt like the air before a monsoon, until the hover came to a stop.

"Out," the woman snapped, and Aneni quirked an eyebrow, silently gesturing at the two men she was crammed in between. A line formed between the woman's eyebrows. "Everyone, out."

Aneni was shunted and shuffled out of the hover, right onto the steps of a glittering hotel. Windows glinted like diamonds from every angle, sharp steel shooting up into the blink-blue sky. Aneni squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, her eyes throbbing so badly she could feel the veins pumping on her coronea.

She was so incredibly out of her element.

"Move."

Aneni moved; the stairs were steeper than she expected, or maybe her knees were quivering just a smidge. Inside, the hotel was even more glittering and glamorous than the outside, rich with red and oranges and yellows and walnut wood and plaited grass, the colors dripping and slipping together into a cacophony of fire and blood and spilled wine.

Now Aneni's hands were shaking, and no matter how hard she pressed them together, she couldn't hide the trickle of sweat that trailed down her lifeline.

The elevator was all cherry-wood, with three panel-screens advertising the delights of the hotel: restaurants, gambling, live music… When was the last time she'd heard live music? She couldn't remember. She wasn't the type to sing in the shower, even if she could carry a tune, which she couldn't, and she didn't leave the house much except to work in the mines. And no one sang in the mines.

Aces, they weren't the seven dwarves.

The elevator chirped cheerily, and Aneni couldn't help flinching. The woman must have spotted the movement in one of the mirrors, because she held open the elevator door with an arm and a shark-toothed smile.

"Whatever you did, I hope it was worth it," she whispered as Aneni tried to stalk past. Aneni shivered. Whatever it was… She thought she knew. There was only one thing that could get her in this much trouble, and that was her father's lies.


	2. Chapter 2

He wasn't sitting as though he meant to be seen, exactly. Not exactly; but nevertheless, there was something showy, a sprinkle of flash, in the way he lounged in that arm chair, staring out over the city like it was his personal snowglobe. Or sand-globe, if there were such things.

"Leave us."

He didn't even look at the security guards before they scrambled out the door. Aneni's throat tied itself in a knot.

"Come here. I don't bite." The man didn't turn to look at her, crooking two fingers at her over the top of the armchair. Aneni swallowed, but she obeyed, moving to stand beside the arm rest, but safely out of arm's reach.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He gestured out at the city. "It's amazing what humans can create, isn't it? And out of what? Sticks and stones, really. That's all these fancy materials boil down to, even the most complex computer or the smartest droid." He rose to his feet, and Aneni held her breath, her ribs condensing into a cage. "I heard you're no stranger to making beauty out of the mundane."

Aneni licked her lips, as though that would make the words slide out easier. "I know what my father said, but it isn't true. He tells lies to make himself look better."

The man turned, and Aneni held herself very, very still. He was beautiful. Not ruggedly handsome, but beautiful, every feature strung together like beads on a string. His dark eyes gleamed sharp as shattered obsidian, and she felt almost as though the shards of sundark would split her open and send her scattering at the seams.

"I'm not going to take your invention from you," he assured her quietly. "I would pay you for it, or even let you oversee its manufacture if you would prefer. I'm a businessman, not a thief."

Aneni shook her head. "I wish I had an invention like that. I really do. It seems like it would solve a lot of my problems." Her lips twisted. "Unfortunately, I was telling the truth. It doesn't exist."

The man examined her for a minute, but Aneni didn't blink. She wasn't sure what would happen to her, but she refused to act guilty. She was not the one in the wrong here. That would be Baba.

Finally, he sighed and rubbed his temples. "I am distressed to hear this, but not surprised. It did seem a little too good to be true." He glanced up at her and smiled, holding out his hand. "Forgive my poor manners. My name is Tendai."

Aneni shook his hand, acutely aware of her calluses and scars scraping his soft skin. "Aneni."

Tendai clapped his hands together. "Well, that is that, then. I would say goodbye and good luck to you, Aneni, but my father has asked that you stay with us for a little while. He doesn't think you'll be safe on your own. There are other companies that have heard your father's rumors, after all."

Aneni frowned. "Stay with you? I can't—"

Tendai clasped his hands in front of him, doing a very good impersonation of a little child. Aneni was struck by how young he was just then, no more than a handful of years older than her. She squashed the thought; Tendai would be a terrible person to develop a crush on.

"Oh, but you must! I assure you, it isn't safe for you to be unprotected while these rumors are floating around."

Aneni pressed her lips together. What was waiting for her at home anyway? Dehydrated ration packs and another day in the mines? At least this hotel had real food. And air conditioning.

The air conditioning clinched the deal.

Aneni folded her arms. "Alright. I'll stay here, for a little while at least."

Tendai smiled, and his obsidian eyes glittered like the night sky. Aneni melted, just a smidge, like dark chocolate in the palm of a hand.

"Perfect. Let me show you to your room."

Aneni had to press her knuckles against her mouth to keep from gasping. She'd never seen such luxury: fluffy pillows, bowls of fresh fruit, white sheets so clean and bright that she was scared her dust could stain them even from the doorway. She slid open the bathroom door, and this time she gasped. The bathtub looked more like a swimming pool, with water jets and a vast array of products lined up on a ledge.

Tendai was grinning when she turned back to him, and Aneni tried to cover her enthusiasm with a scowl. "Show-off."

Tendai's laugh echoed off the stone. "I couldn't resist." Just then, his port pinged, and his eyebrows pinched when he glanced at the message. "I'm afraid duty calls. Would you join me for brunch, though? Ten o'clock. Your guard can show you to the restaurant."

Aneni poked her head out of the shower she'd been exploring. "My guard?"

"She'll be right outside if you need anything!" Tendai called over his shoulder as the heavy hotel door clicked shut behind him.

Aneni scowled. The hotel room was nice, sure, but a guard? Was she for keeping her in or keeping others out? She peered out of the peephole in the door, but she could only make out the navy blue of a uniform. Aneni opened the door a tiny bit and made direct eye contact with the female guard who'd escorted her in. Aneni jerked the door open.

"Guess I didn't do anything, huh?" she demanded, and the guard's eyes narrowed. She kept her eyes fixed on the wall in front of her. Aneni waited one more moment, savouring in her triumph, before yanking the door shut. Next on her list: soak in the bath until she was as wrinkly as an elephant.

Aneni was lounging on the bed, surfing through vids and news on the massive netscreen, when a knock sounded on the door. She leapt up and triple-knotted her dressing gown. Should've put on my old clothes. She jerked open the door, but it wasn't Tendai who walked in, but a boy in staff clothing. The hotel insignia on his breast pocket shimmered as he held out an elegantly wrapped box.

"For Miss Aneni?"

Aneni blinked. "Oh. Yes, that's me." She accepted the box and slid the ribbon off. When she lifted away the layers of tissue paper, she caught a glimpse of the richest cobalt silk she'd ever seen. When she lifted the dress out, the silk unfolded, rippling, into a knee-length sundress with a cheerful sunshine yellow belt and gold buttons running up the top. It was beautiful, the most beautiful thing she'd ever laid hands on. She wasn't sure she would ever would picked it for herself, but all of a sudden she was itching to try it on.

"You dropped the note, miss."

Aneni grabbed the note, not wanting anyone else to see the message meant for her. Even if it was just a note. "Thank you," she muttered and slammed the door shut.

I hope you like it. I want to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Don't forget to call me if there's anything you need. Tendai.

Aneni's trademark scowl flickered at the corners of her lips. Could someone actually be this nice? What else could he want from her?

But it was hard to scowl with the silk tickling her skin. And maybe, just maybe, she was finally having a bit of luck in her life.

Aneni stepped into the restaurant with more than a little apprehension. She hadn't been to one of these in so long… Her father had taken her for her birthday once, to a cheap little place not far from the bar she'd dragged him out of only yesterday. Which birthday? She could not quite remember. She remembered the tacky feeling of the table, though, and the flat, sweet orange-flavored soda that she'd drunk until she felt sick. Now, anything flavored faux-orange made her gag.

But now, looking around at the glossy tables and knit-wicker chairs, the natural light streaming in from massive bay windows, and the handsome young man waiting for her, Aneni had a feeling that this restaurant experience would be very different.

Tandei's smile widened as she sat down, but faded away too quickly. "How has your morning been?"

Aneni shrugged. "Very relaxing," she admitted. "I'm not used to having so much time to myself. I don't really know what to do with myself."

Tandei chuckled. "If there's anything you'd like, just let me know and I can arrange it." Then he glanced down. Aneni noticed that he was twisting the napkin into a knot in his lap.

"What's the matter?"

He cleared his throat, then slid his port across the table so she could see. For a second, Aneni's brain couldn't process what she was seeing, and then her fingertips grew cold.

"That's not… my house?" She wanted to tear her eyes away from the shredded walls, the trampled bedding, the smashed bowl they'd filled with little black stones from their trip to the river. But she couldn't. Even so, she knew that Tandei was shaking his head.

"I'm sorry."

Aneni pressed her lips together. They were just things, after all, and not even very good things at that, but they had been hers.

"A drink, miss?"

"Water," she murmured, and Tandei slid the glass towards her. Aneni sipped, the condensation running down her wrists. Another thought hit her. "Baba! Is my father okay?"

"He was the one who informed us of the incident," Tandei told her, stirring a cocktail with his straw. "Fortunately, he was at the local bar."

Aneni never thought she'd see the day when she was glad that Baba had been at the bar, but here it was. She almost wanted to laugh, but the sound couldn't squeeze past the lump in her throat. Only things, she reminded herself. Only things.

Tandei placed his hand on top of hers on the table, and Aneni's pulse fluttered in her wrist. She hadn't held someone's hand in forever; there weren't many people her age in the mines. Most of them tried their hardest to get out, but Aneni had never bothered. Why leave? Where would she go? Now, though, the worming wriggling thought of never going back was writhing in her mind.

"I'm glad you're here." Tandei's thumb shifted slightly over the ragged skin of her knuckles.

Aneni bit her lip. "I am too."

Tandei's smile quirked back into place. "I'm also glad whoever it was didn't have the satisfaction of finding what they were looking for. It's hard enough competing in the mining world without having to contend with alchemy."

Aneni slid her hand away from his, ostensibly so that she could grip the menu. The descriptions on the page made her mouth water, and she wondered how she would ever decide. "Is your company very big?"

"Not very," Tandei sighed, checking his port quickly. "We're… well, I guess you might as well know. We're going out of business. I'm doing everything I can to keep us afloat, but…" He shrugged. "My father blames me. Ever since I became an active part of the company, we've gone into the red."

Aneni's eyebrows scrunched together. "What? But the hotel?"

Tandei shook his head. "That's my mother's money. She gives me an allowance each month, and I'm never wanting, but she's forbidden me to use that on the company." He lifted one shoulder. "She always says Father loved the company more than he loved her."

"Oh." Aneni didn't know how to respond to that; she wondered what it would feel like to lounge in air conditioning and eat food that didn't have to be rehydrated every day, but she also couldn't imagine the weight of the responsibility and failure he must be feeling. There was a part of her that wished, just a little bit, that she really had made the machine.

Tandei lifted an eyebrow. "That's enough about me. Tell me, what do you think looks tasty?"

"All of it," Aneni admitted.

Tandei laughed. "Oh? And can you eat all of it?"

"I would certainly give it a try." Aneni glanced up at him. "What would you recommend?"

"Well, first I would start with a drink." Tandei ran his finger down her menu and paused over the White Russian. "Do you like coffee?" When Aneni nodded, he keyed the order into the port inset into the table and began scrolling through the food options.

Looking back, Aneni couldn't quite remember what they talked about. The cocktail contributed greatly to that— she had two, perhaps. Probably not three. She remembered the laughter, the food, the way Tandei had looked at her… She remembered swaying to a slow melody in the elevator with him and the press of his hands on her back when he kissed her… She remembered silk sheets and skin.

Unfortunately, she never remembered thinking that she was making a massive mistake. That came later.


End file.
